An electromechanical aircraft brake generally comprises at least one electromechanical actuator conventionally comprising a thruster and an electric motor suitable for displacing the thruster facing friction members of the brake (a stack of carbon disks for example), so as to exert, on the friction members, a braking force tending to slow down the aircraft. To produce the park braking function, that is to say the immobilization of the aircraft without the pilot having to continually press on the brake pedals, the electromechanical actuator is provided with a blocking member which makes it possible to selectively immobilize the thruster of the electromechanical actuator in position.
Such an electromechanical actuator is electrically powered and controlled by external or internal control means which receive a braking setpoint and determine a braking force to be applied to the friction members.
This electromechanical actuator has to be associated with effective monitoring means intended to regularly check that the electromechanical actuator is operating correctly. It is in fact vital to the safety of the aircraft to ensure, on the one hand, that the controlled braking force is correctly applied, and, on the other hand, that a braking force is not applied inadvertently. It is also vital to know the real state of the blocking member of the electromechanical actuator and to detect any malfunctioning of this blocking member, for example an accidental locking thereof.
Implementing the existing monitoring means often results in a not inconsiderable increase in the weight of the electromechanical actuator or in the addition of additional sensors associated with the electromechanical actuator. Furthermore, the existing monitoring means are often sensitive to environmental disturbances (thermal, electromechanical, etc.) to which the electromechanical actuators are subject.